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Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life...
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Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing

A special issue of Humanities (ISSN 2076-0787).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 November 2025 | Viewed by 1988

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Unni Langås

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Nordic and Media Studies, University of Agder, 4604 Kristiansand, Norway
Interests: 19th, 20th and 21st century Scandinavian literature; Norwegian literature

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue addresses representations of WW II memories in contemporary Norwegian literature, doing so with a comparative glance at tendencies occurring in the entire post-war era. Today, the primary witnesses are mostly gone, and new generations are facing a past they feel an urgent need to thematize. In fiction and life writing, new voices approach this critical phase in Norwegian history and its inherited master narrative from fresh angles and current interests. Informed by family experiences, national and international memory culture, as well as recent historiographic research, literary contributions offer new interpretations of war-time concerns and their post-war afterlife.

Fiction which addresses historical experience is conventionally complete with references to real events and persons, thus implying a certain realism or trustworthiness. An important question is how this tension between the historical credibility and its aesthetical framing is shaped, and how the critics and readers respond to it. Another question concerns the changing norms that a comparative study of attitudes and opinions between past and present reveals. During times of occupation, unconventional relationships occur, and belongings (national, ethnic, gender) become powerful, even existentially decisive. The Special Issue will address these questions and offer comprehensive analyses of selected Norwegian WWII literature.

Abstract deadline: 1 March 2025

Prof. Dr. Unni Langås
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Humanities is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Norwegian literature
  • memory studies
  • World War II

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 225 KB  
Article
National Identity and Nomadic Subjectivity in Norwegian War Poetry
by Hans Kristian Strandstuen Rustad
Humanities 2025, 14(11), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/h14110208 - 22 Oct 2025
Viewed by 113
Abstract
This article aims to explore how subjectivity is portrayed and reflected in Norwegian poetry on World War II and post-2000 wars. The material will include only a small number of anthologized poems from World War II by the poets Arnulf Øverland, Inger Hagerup, [...] Read more.
This article aims to explore how subjectivity is portrayed and reflected in Norwegian poetry on World War II and post-2000 wars. The material will include only a small number of anthologized poems from World War II by the poets Arnulf Øverland, Inger Hagerup, and Nordahl Grieg, and contemporary war poetry by Priya Bains and Pedro Carmona-Alvarez. It suggests that Norwegian World War II poems often exhibit a fixed rhythm, include rhymes, and emphasize national identity, utilizing binary oppositions such as “we”–“the others,” “friend”–“enemy”. In contrast, contemporary Norwegian war poetry seems to feature structures that reflect global, nomadic subjectivities. These contemporary works may engage more with fluid identities and intricate networks of connection, moving beyond the rigid dichotomies seen in earlier war poetry in Norway. These insights suggest a shift in how poets express and conceptualize war, influenced by changing global dynamics and understandings of identity and subjectivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)
15 pages, 238 KB  
Article
Postmemory Interpretations of Second World War Love Affairs in Twenty-First-Century Norwegian Literature
by Unni Langås
Humanities 2025, 14(7), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/h14070135 - 24 Jun 2025
Viewed by 1155
Abstract
Love and intimate relations between German men and Norwegian women were a widespread phenomenon during WWII. Like in many other European countries, these women were stigmatized and humiliated both by the authorities and by the civilian population. In this article, I discuss four [...] Read more.
Love and intimate relations between German men and Norwegian women were a widespread phenomenon during WWII. Like in many other European countries, these women were stigmatized and humiliated both by the authorities and by the civilian population. In this article, I discuss four postmemory literary works that address this issue: Edvard Hoem’s novel Mors og fars historie (The Story of My Mother and Father, 2005), Lene Ask’s graphic novel Hitler, Jesus og farfar (Hitler, Jesus, and Grandfather, 2006), Randi Crott and Lillian Crott Berthung’s autobiography Ikke si det til noen! (Don’t tell anyone!, 2013), and Atle Næss’s novel Blindgjengere (Duds, 2019). I explore how the narratives create a living connection between then and now and how they deal with unresolved questions and knowledge gaps. Furthermore, I discuss common themes such as the fate and identity of war children, national responsibilities versus individual choice, and norms connected to gender and sexuality. I argue that these postmemory interpretations of wartime love affairs not only aim to retell the past but to investigate the normative frameworks within which these relationships took place. My contention is that the postmemory gaze pays primary attention to the power of cultural constructions—of nationality, identity, and gender—as well as their context-related historical changes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Memories of World War II in Norwegian Fiction and Life Writing)
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